Mulling It Over: Romans 8:31-32 - What Shall We Say?

November 07, 2024 by Amy Christensen in Mulling It over, Romans 8:31-32, What shall we say?, Being in Christ, Belief, Belief in God's Word, Belief in Jesus, Belief in the Bible, Believe, Bible, Bible passage, Bible study, Bible teaching, Bible verses, Blogging, Blogging about God, Blogging about Jesus, Blogging on Christianity, Blogging on faith, Blogging on life, Blogging on the Bible, Christ's humility, Christ's sacrifice, Christ-like, Christian, Christian author, Christian belief, Christian Bible study, Christian blog, Christian faith, Christian faith blog, Christian life, Christian teaching, Faith Blog, Faith blogger, Faith in God, Faith in Jesus, Faith in the bible, Faith in the Holy Spirit, Christian blogger, God the Creator, God the Father, God the Holy Spirit, God the Son, God wants to know us, God's creativity, Growing in Our faith, Knowledge of God, Lack of peace, Learning from the Bible, Learning about God, Demanding our rights, Rights based thinking, Christ based thinking, Words of Life, Who can you trust?, Trust in the Lord, Trusting God, Trusting God's word, Truth

We are looking once again at Romans 8. I have been going through different chapters of the book of Romans in the New Testament on my own in recent months. I have started the practice of writing out several verses at a time, word for word as they are written in my English Standard Version of the Bible. After I write the verses out, I ask the question what do these verses tell me about God. It has been a wonderful practice to not only hand write, and yes I am doing it in cursive, but also to dwell on who God is and what He has done for us that has given us the ability to come into His presence as one of His children.

I have not written out Romans 8 as of yet, but it has been eye opening to go through this chapter over the last year and a half with all of you who read this little blog. Today we take a closer look at a few very familiar verses that I am sure many of you can quote.

“31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?
32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? ”

— Romans 8:31-32 (NASB 1995)

Let’s do our usual and look at these verses a phrase at a time.

What then shall we say to these things? This question is a referring back to the previous verses. Verses 1 - 25 remind us of our deliverance from bondage, and the awaiting transformation to glory. Verses 26 - 30 remind us of our position in Him. What can we possibly say to all of that? Can we condemn God, saying He is a malevolent being who does not care for us; that he has not provided a way for us to have peace with Him; that He cares not for our well being? How could we say such untruths when it is clear that He provided the way, and He gives us all we need, and even in our weakest moments His own Spirit is praying for us; interceding according to the Father’s will.

If God is for us, who is against us? I can hear the voices accusing, “If God is really for us then why are there all these problems? Why is our world is such a state of chaos? Why is there so much hate? Why is there so much pain?”

I do not want to throw out pat answers or give a couple of other verses to support this idea and send you on your way. This is tough. Once again, however, I must remind all of us of our Savior’s very own words.

“33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

— John 16:33 (ESV)

Once again, we have to refer back to Genesis 3 when the serpent, Satan, tempted Eve. He didn’t just tempt her flesh, he tempted her ability to trust in her Creator. Isn’t that true of the world ever since? Why did Adam and Eve sin? Because they did not believe that God really loved them and wanted the best for them. They believed, with the help of Satan’s manipulation of God’s words, that they would be better off making their own choices and decisions.

We still live in that shadow of mistrust. We begin to doubt God’s Word, we stop going to church, we start reading and listening to philosophies and voices that tear apart Christian thoughts and beliefs, and we start focusing on what is going to make us happy. We become rights based. No matter how much faith we put in our founding fathers, the reality is they were fallen men, and only God and His truth can be fully trusted. The only true rights we have are those given to us by the Creator of life. Without Him we are nothing.

Why do we have trouble, problems, struggles and trials; because sin entered a perfect world, but the beautiful thing is God provided a way. It doesn’t require my work, my money, my time, my identity it only requires my faith. It isn’t just faith in a verse here or there, but in the whole inspired Word of God. When we start throwing scripture out the window we tear down the foundation He laid for our redemption, justification and glorification. We open the door to racism, fascism, humanism and communism. We make up justifications for our behaviors saying like Madonna sang, “I was born this way.” We descend into mind numbing chaos revolving around a continuous search for peace, identity and value.

But God….

It is God who is for us. It is God who created this little blue and green gem we live on. It is God who gave us the law as a foreshadow of a more perfect way, and then gave us His son Jesus Christ who died on a cross for our sin so that we might be made right with the Father.

“15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” ”

— Romans 8:15 (NASB 1995)

It is God who imprinted His very own image on us and no matter how hard we try to run from that imprint we are distinctly God’s because of that image. God is not against us. He is the only one who is truly, purely for us, because He loves us and recognizes each one of us as His handiwork.

He who did not spare His own son, but delivered Him over for us all… This needs little explanation. God sent Jesus as a baby to Mary. He was born, and lived a human life for approximately 33 years. The last three of those years he ministered and taught His disciples doing miracles and teaching about His Father and the Kingdom of God. Most of the Jews in His time did not believe what he said, even accusing him of having a demon (see John 8:48). Eventually, it was His own people, the Jews, who condemned Him to death via Pilate. He died an agonizing death on a cross, but it was what He did after that made all the difference. If Jesus hadn’t risen from the dead, we would still be slaves to sin. It was God’s power displayed in this act of resurrection that gives us the ability to leave the world of shadow and emerge into His light.

…how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? So what does this mean? We know the triune God isn’t Santa Clause. We don’t just ask Him for anything we want like He is our very own Genie in a Bottle. When you grow in your relationship with Christ you come to realize He provides everything you need: peace, love, joy, strength, rest, hope, thanksgiving…these are not physical things, but He is also providing our physical needs as well. Things like jobs to buy food and pay our bills; family and friends to provide a space of security and joy; a home to live in, blankets on our beds…the list is pretty much endless. He will always come through and give you exactly what you need when you need it. I have found, the more I rely on Him for every single thing, the more He provides when I haven’t even asked.

““For every beast of the forest is Mine, The cattle on a thousand hills.”

— Psalm 50:10 (NASB 1995)

I hope these verses were a pertinent reminder of how very secure you are in Christ, and I hope that helps you to walk with peace, joy and confidence in Him.

Have a great weekend!

A Year of Waiting - Tarry

September 19, 2024 by Amy Christensen in A Year of Waiting, Abide, Tarry, Sit a spell, Sit with God, Sit with Jesus, Abide in Christ, Acknowledge Him, Acknowledging feelings, Acknowledging pain, Affliction, Being in the dark, Being in the light, Being Thankful, Belief, Belief in God's Word, Belief in Jesus, Belief in the Bible, Believe, Bible, Bible passage, Bible passages, Bible study, Bible teaching, Blogging, Blogging about God, Blogging about Jesus, Blogging on Christianity, Blogging on faith, Blogging on life, Blogging on prayer, Blogging on the Bible, Blogging on waiting, Christian belief, Christian blog, Christian blogger, Christian faith, Christian faith blog, Christian life, Difficulty, Disappointment, Embracing our emotions, Emotion, Faith, Faith Blog, Faith blogger, Faith in God, Faith in Jesus, Faith in the bible, Faith in the Holy Spirit, Faith inspiration, Feeling overwhelmed, Remember God's character, Acknowledge God's ability, He is able, Renew our understanding, God is my strength, God is my refuge, God is my deliverer, God is our shield, God is my fortress, God is my rock, God is my salvation, God is mighty, God is righteous, God is powerful, God's Word, God's strength, God's protection, God's love, God's delight, God delights in us, God rescues us, Thankful, Thankfulness, Thanksgiving, Giving thanks, give thanks

The word tarry as defined in Webster’s Online Dictionary means: to delay or be tardy in action or doing; to linger in expectation; wait; to abide or stay in or at a place; stay, or sojourn. Tarry is an older word used in the first few senses in the 14th century. Ask yourself, how often do I use the word tarry today? We don’t usually say, “I tarried at the train station.” “I’m going to tarry at the seashore.” “I’m sure to tarry in line at the concert.” It sounds rather archaic.

When it comes to this word journey I have been on for the year 2024, I like the way tarry opens up other doors and windows to this idea of waiting. As I have noted previously, waiting can be a complete drag, and most of us would not sign up for an adventure in waiting, but our lives are full of lines, traffic jams, delays, and prospects of a future that require we wait.

When I hear the word tarry, I do not think of a long term situation. However, if we look at the King James Version of scripture, which uses a synonym, sojourn we see that the span of time could be quite lengthy.

“Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years.”

— Exodus 12:40 (KJV)

Still we get the sense that it was not intended to be forever. When God speaks of a long term living situation He often uses the word dwell, or abide. We took a closer look at the word abide in February. You can see that post here.

“1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For brothers to dwell together in unity!
2 It is like the precious oil upon the head,
Coming down upon the beard,
Even Aaron’s beard,
Coming down upon the edge of his robes.
3 It is like the dew of Hermon
Coming down upon the mountains of Zion;
For there the Lord commanded the blessing—life forever.”

— Psalm 133 (NASB 1995)

Psalm 133 has a tone I would associate with a long term living situation. God intended that we dwell together in unity in a place where we experience the blessing of life forever. In this psalm it is a reference to Zion, which we can also look at as eternity with God. With the state many of our current churches are in it can be hard to imagine being able to dwell with those same brothers or sisters together forever in unity. Ha, ha. However, God said it will be true. We won’t just be tarrying, but putting down roots and dwelling.

Since we already looked at the idea of abide, I wanted to spend some time thinking about what it means to tarry with God. I have learned, it is essential that we tarry with God as much as we can, especially when our lives are pulling us in so many directions. You might feel on any given day, “I don’t have time to abide. I am too busy.” However, if we don’t find the time, God will give us the time, and that is not always preferable as it usually comes with some sort of difficulty. God is not mean hearted, He loves you purely with everlasting love, and He knows exactly what you need, and that is directly linked to the time you spend with Him.

Let me give you a personal example. I was really struggling for several weeks this past month. I was exhausted, discouraged and my heart felt so heavy. Grief was a blanket I was regularly wrapping up in. Grief over my mom being in a nursing home and not being able to be there to help with her care. Grief over my children who have walked away from the truth of the scripture and the love of Jesus. Grief over the state of our country and the fear of the looming downward spiral. Grief over relationships. Grief over loved ones with cancer and other illnesses. Grief over other people’s kids who were struggling with addictions and various other issues. Grief over my own health. The list goes on.

I am learning the importance of acknowledging these feelings and allowing myself to feel them. They are real, after all, and are felt on the deepest levels. However, we all know we can’t live in those dark places. We always need to return to the light, otherwise the darkness will become an all too comfortable place to abide and dwell.

I felt God pulling me. Whispering to me, “Amy, come to Me. Spend time with Me. Only I can meet every need and help you bear every burden.” I know this to be true, but as you know our flesh wars against us every chance it gets. Finally, one sunny afternoon, I took my Bible and my prayer journal out on the patio and began a search through the scriptures. I was looking for Psalm 34:18

“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted And saves those who are crushed in spirit.”

— Psalm 34:18 (NASB 1995)

I knew it was in the psalms, but I couldn’t remember where, so I just started leafing through. God brought me two different passages.

“8 Depart from me, all you who do iniquity,
For the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping.
9 The Lord has heard my supplication,
The Lord receives my prayer.”

— Psalm 6:8-9 (NASB 1995)

“1 “I love You, O Lord, my strength.”
2 The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge;
My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
3 I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,
And I am saved from my enemies.”

— Psalm 18:1-3 (NASB 1995)

When we tarry with God we can find peace and joy, even in the midst of our grief and pain. When we tarry we spend time, even just a small amount of time, doing the following:

1 - Remembering God’s character - He hears our weeping, our supplication and He receives our prayers. Don’t you love that? God isn’t ashamed of our emotions. He wants us to come and ask. He is our Abba, Father and He loves us. He wants to hear our prayers. He doesn’t just hear them, He receives them. He takes them on as His own. Remember The Bee Keeper? If you don’t, buzz on over to that post for a refresher.

2 - Acknowledging His abilities - He is our strength. He is our rock, our fortress, and our deliverer. He is our shield. He is our salvation. He is our stronghold. He is our refuge. All of these things are His abilities, and He gives them to us without reserve. He can protect, give strength, and get us through anything that comes our way.

“7 Then the earth shook and quaked;
And the foundations of the mountains were trembling
And were shaken, because He was angry.
8 Smoke went up out of His nostrils,
And fire from His mouth devoured;
Coals were kindled by it.
9 He bowed the heavens also, and came down
With thick darkness under His feet.
10 He rode upon a cherub and flew;
And He sped upon the wings of the wind.
11 He made darkness His hiding place, His canopy around Him,
Darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.
12 From the brightness before Him passed His thick clouds,
Hailstones and coals of fire.
13 The Lord also thundered in the heavens,
And the Most High uttered His voice,
Hailstones and coals of fire.
14 He sent out His arrows, and scattered them,
And lightning flashes in abundance, and routed them.
15 Then the channels of water appeared,
And the foundations of the world were laid bare
At Your rebuke, O Lord,
At the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.”

— Psalm 18:7-15 (NASB 1995)

3 - Renewing our understanding of Him - I have read Psalm 18 numerous times, but the Scripture, being that it is living and active, spoke to me anew. The above verses floored me. He is not just a gentle and loving God; He is a powerful, mighty force able to move mountains with a thought. He has, can and will display holy anger when the time is right for His wrath and will to be accomplished. It sets my heart to quaking, but also fills me with hope. He will have the final word, and all that is dark, and ugly, and painful will be burned away in His purest, most holy light.

“16 He sent from on high, He took me;
He drew me out of many waters.
17 He delivered me from my strong enemy,
And from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me.
18 They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
But the Lord was my stay.
19 He brought me forth also into a broad place;
He rescued me, because He delighted in me.”

— Psalm 18:16-19 (NASB 1995)

“49 Therefore I will give thanks to You among the nations, O Lord,
And I will sing praises to Your name.”

— Psalm 18:49 (NASB 1995)

4 - Thanking Him for all He has done - If you can only tarry for a few minutes, I think this is the best bench to sit on. Gratitude is known to change hearts, minds, health, and perspective. When we sit for a few minutes on God’s goodness and provision to us it gives us the ability to keep going because we come away with hope. With God there is always hope.

Take it from me, if you are struggling with grief, pain, bitterness or other unresolved feelings and situations it certainly is helpful to talk it out with a trusted friend or counselor, but also don’t forget to tarry for a little while with Jesus. He makes all the difference.

A Year of Waiting - Enduring

August 15, 2024 by Amy Christensen in A Year of Waiting, Enduring, Endurance, Enduring in waiting, Waiting, Waiting for God, Waiting in life, Waiting on Jesus, Waiting times, Waiting for help, Waiting for relief, Waiting for glory, Belief, Belief in God's Word, Belief in Jesus, Belief in the Bible, Believe, Bible, Bible passage, Bible study, Bible verses, Blogging, Blogging about God, Blogging about Jesus, Blogging on Christianity, Blogging on faith, Blogging on life, Blogging on the Bible, Blogging on waiting, Christian, Christian belief, Christian blog, Christian blogger, Christian faith, Christian faith blog, Christian life, Faith Blog, Faith blogger, Faith in God, Faith in Jesus, Faith in the bible, Growing in Our faith, Growth, Growth in God, Joy, God's Word, God's faithfulness, God's strength, God's word, God's work in my life, Hope in God, Jesus is the truth, Jesus for Joy

When it comes to waiting, it can be a time of anticipation and expectation, or it can be a time of grueling, determination to not give up. Usually, our waiting times fall somewhere in between these two extremes.

The last time I posted about my word for the year: waiting, it was a look from above as I compared our waiting time to a plane in a holding pattern doing laps around the airport as it waited for a runway to come down on. (See that post here.) A holding pattern is frequently what our lives look like as we wait for answers, wait for jobs, wait for love, and the list goes on. We keep circling the airport, waiting for the chance to finally land, and hoping when we do it will be on the right runway.

Since that last post on waiting, I have encountered an up close and personal look, once again, at the word endure. Endure was not on my list of similar waiting words, but I was struck this morning by the thought that enduring is a very real, gut level, type of waiting. Let’s look at a few definitions of the word endure.

Intransitive Verb

1 - to continue in the same state

2 - to remain firm under suffering and misfortune without yielding

Transitive Verb

1 - to undergo especially without giving in

2 - to regard with acceptance and tolerance

When we look at the thesaurus we see additional words such as: undergo, experience, go through, encounter, sustain, digest, accept, assimilate, handle, taste, stand for, tough it out, and others. Looking at these words we do not see a passive waiting, but an active, working it out, type of waiting. Like the gentleman above, just hanging around by one arm, waiting, looking as though he has not a care in the world; you can bet he is waiting with endurance as he hangs on for his very life.

This is the unseen torment of endurance. It is often when others are enduring that no one else knows what they are dealing with. The inner struggles are unseen. The agonizing dark nights are unnoticed. The passage of days grow long, where all that is wanted is for something to change; for something to get better; for someone to come along and give support in the waiting. I do not know why God delays in bringing about relief in these time of enduring, but I do know that He is good, and He is allowing our long travail through the valley of darkness for a purpose.

As Christ followers, most of us are familiar with the following verse.

“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

— Romans 8:28 (NASB 1995)

I covered this one verse more fully in my Mulling It Over post, where I have been going through the eighth chapter of Romans. Today, I just wanted to reiterate the goodness of our God. We may be waiting in the most dire of circumstances, but He is worthy of our continued allegiance and trust.

We are called to endure. The Bible encourages us repeatedly to not lose hope, the keep up the good fight, to run the race and more.

“2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,
3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.
4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

— James 1:2-4 (ESV)

The testing of our faith can produce endurance, or as this version says, steadfastness. Why is steadfastness so important? If we let it have God’s desired effect it makes us perfect and complete, lacking nothing. That’s pretty amazing. Of course we don’t want to go through struggles, but if we can realize the importance of this weighty waiting, we can endure, knowing God will perfect us through it.

A little further along in James we see this reiterated.

“12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. ”

— James 1:12 (ESV)

Girlfriends, we aren’t just going to be made perfect, lacking nothing, we are going to receive a crown of life. That is a promise from God to those who love Him. Whoo, hoo! I don’t know about you, but I am looking forward to wearing that crown right up to His heavenly throne, where I will cast it with tears of gratitude at his nail pierced feet.

Let’s look at one more passage on endurance.

“1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”

— Hebrews 12:1-2 (ESV)

These two verses remind us we are not alone in the long wait of endurance. Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, endured the cross. He did it in obedience to the Father, but also for joy. Wait! What? Yes, He did it for joy, the joy of having us with Him; the joy of bringing us into glory with Him; the joy of knowing the fulfillment of everything the Father had put into motion at the beginning of time.

The long wait of endurance is difficult, but in it we are always seen and known by the One who completely gets it.

Mulling it Over - Romans 8:28

August 01, 2024 by Amy Christensen in Belief, Belief in Jesus, Belief in the Bible, Belief in God's Word, Believe, Bible study, Bible teaching, Bible passages, Bible verses, Bible passage, Blogging, Blogging about God, Blogging about Jesus, Blogging on Christianity, Blogging on faith, Blogging on the Bible, Christ-like, Christian, Christian belief, Christian blog, Christian blogger, Christian faith, Christian faith blog, Christian life, Faith Blog, Faith blogger, Faith in God, Faith in Jesus, Faith in the bible, Glorifying Jesus, Glorifying God, Romans 8:28

This week we are only going to focus on one verse from Roman’s 8. Last month we looked at verses 26 and 27. We learned more about all the Holy Spirit does for us in helping us to live the Christian life in this flesh. We were also reminded of His work to help our weaknesses by praying for us with depth and clarity, as He always prays the Father’s will for us.

Today’s verse brings the last two verses into sharp focus.

Image by PublicDomainPictures from Pixabay

“28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

— Romans 8:28 (NASB 1995)

Let’s dissect this verse phrase by phrase.

And we know….

This is an interesting way to start this verse. How do we know? What is it we know? How is it that we know it? How does the author know that we know? Does the author know and we don’t know?

We will find out what we know in the next phrase, but let’s just sit here for a minute. How do we know? We know because of the work of the Holy Spirit. Remember last week we had a list of things the Holy Spirit does for us. Two of these stand out: the Spirit dwells in us if Christ is in us (vs. 9), and the Spirit testifies with our spirit we are children of God.

Jesus Christ, the Son, knows the mind of the Father.

“14 I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me,
15 even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.”

— John 10:14-15 (NASB 1995)

“30 I and the Father are one.””

— John 10:30 (NASB 1995)

If Christ knows the Father, then when we receive Him, we also receive the Father, our Abba, Father. So too, the Holy Spirit dwells in us. He testifies with our spirit that we are sons and daughters of God and so we know. We know whatever it is He, the triune God wants us to know.

…that God…

Make no mistake, God is in this. He is continuously at work in our world, even during those “dark nights of the soul.”

“‘O Lord God, You have begun to show Your servant Your greatness and Your strong hand; for what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do such works and mighty acts as Yours?”

— Deuteronomy 3:24 (NASB 1995)

“There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons.”

— 1 Corinthians 12:6 (NASB 1995)

“for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”

— Philippians 2:13 (NASB 1995)

…causes….

Sovereignty is something we must address when it comes to God causing things to take place. The word sovereign means one possessing supreme power. We typically refer to a king or queen as a sovereign as within their kingdom they possess supreme power, and ascendency.

Those of us who live in democratic societies might cringe at the idea of being beneath one who is sovereign. We have become so brain washed to the idea of independence and rights that we tend to forget we still live in community and need a system of checks and balances to keep anyone from having too much power.

However, when it comes to a supreme God; an all loving and completely good God it can be an easier pill to swallow, that He is ultimately in control. He allows and he prevents. He protects, and He holds back protection. He provides and He withholds.

What is it that this mighty being is causing, and for what purpose is He allowing it to happen.

….all things to work together for good…

It doesn’t say that God is causing only the good things to work together for good. He is causing ALL things to work together for good. The good, the bad, and the ugly; the light and the darkness; the times of prosperity and the times of poverty; the times of strength and the times of weakness. In His sovereign ability to see it all, He alone can work it all out for good.

…to those who love God…

There is a descriptor here. He doesn’t work everything out for good for everyone on the planet. He only does this for those who love Him, and…

…to those who are called according to His purpose.

We might be asking ourselves the question, “What is His purpose?” Believe me the last three and a half years for me have been a questioning time. I don’t question His character, but I once in a while I do question His purposes. The question, “What are you doing, God,” often comes to my mind. It is okay to question, but we don’t want our questioning to become doubt that leads to frustration and bitterness.

“19 And He said, “I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the Lord before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion.””

— Exodus 33:19 (NASB 1995)

When Moses asked God if he could see His glory, God agreed. God says of Himself, He is good, as we can see in the above verse. The fact that a good God can make all things work together for good makes sense. However, we can also see in that verse that He will be gracious to whom He will be gracious and He will show compassion on whom He will show compassion. I don’t think this is God’s way of flipping off people who are struggling. I believe it is a confirmation of His sovereignty and we are being reminded that it is He who is ultimately in control.

God doesn’t change. The God of the Old Testament is still the same God, but there is now a new covenant through Jesus Christ. Jesus really does make all the difference. It is because of Jesus, and the Holy Spirit that God works all things together for good.

Being called according to His purpose, is quite simply living day to day in His presence. This isn’t a call to some grandiose life, or a suddenly acquisition of a super hero cap and ability to fly. We are simply called to live according to God’s purpose: to obey Him and glorify Him in everything we do. This we can do no matter where we find ourselves on life’s journey. No matter if you are homeless, employed, divorced, married, single, young, old, in perfect health or struggling with chronic illness, you are called according to His purpose.

I hope you find His words encouraging. Life is hard, but our God is good, all the time.

Have a great week.

Faith Topics: Why is it Necessary to Study the Bible?

March 05, 2024 by Amy Christensen in Belief, Belief in God's Word, Belief in Jesus, Belief in the Bible, Believe, Bible, Bible study, Bible teaching, Blogging, Blogging about God, Blogging about Jesus, Blogging on Christianity, Blogging on faith, Blogging on life, Blogging on prayer, Blogging on the Bible, Christian, Christian belief, Christian blog, Christian blogger, Christian faith, Christian faith blog, Christian life, Christian Faith blog, Why study the Bible?, Why study the Scriptures?, Why study God's Word?, Faith Blog, Faith blogger, Faith, Faith in God, Faith in Jesus, Faith in the bible, Faith in the Holy Spirit, God's Word, Study the Bible, Study God's Word, Inspired Word of God, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Timothy 2:15, Present yourselves to God, Unashamed workmen, Accurately handling truth, Adequate for every work, Equipped, Teaching and training

Let’s face it, life is busy, especially if you are working, have children, or are involved in any sort of activities outside the home. People just have a lot to do these days. If I am a Christian and believe in eternal security (once saved, always saved) what’s the point of studying the Bible? Isn’t it enough to hear it on Sunday morning? Isn’t reading it once in a while more than sufficient to keep me grounded in my Christian faith?

There are several thoughts I have on this topic and I think it is an important issue to address. Let’s start by looking at what scripture itself has to say.

“16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”

— 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NASB 1995)

This verse gives us several good reasons to study God’s word.

1 - All of Scripture is inspired by God.

If you were interested in learning more about a certain historical figure, Hollywood star or famous pop singer would you go to the Tabloids or would you want to go to the direct source? An autobiography is going to be more revealing about a person than a few short paragraphs about where they were last seen and who they were last hanging out with. If we claim to be Christians and want to live a Christ like life then the place to go is the Word of God to receive information that is most accurate and truthful. God, Himself, inspired the men who wrote the words. I believe this is the most accurate historical document we have.

2 - All of Scripture is profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, and for training in righteousness.

Think about this for a minute. If you read a magazine, a textbook, or a fictional piece, each one may give you some sort of benefit. You might learn how to cook a certain dish from a recipe book. You might learn more about what vitamins to take as you age from a magazine on aging. You might find yourself swept away by a riveting adventure which helps you relax. However, unlike the Bible most things we read are not able to do everything the Bible can do.

The Bible is a historical account of the Nation of Israel, giving us a history lesson. The Bible is a book of poetry and love. The Bible gives us steps to ease anxiety, love our neighbor, and forgive those who have hurt us. The Bible teaches us how to live, how to love and how to have a relationship with an amazing God.

3 - All Scripture enables us to be adequate and equipped for every good work.

Image by free stock photos from www.picjumbo.com from Pixabay

You know what I like most about that last phrase? The word adequate. It doesn’t tell us that we will be perfect. It doesn’t say we will be all knowing, powerful, or rich. It says we will be adequate. Webster’s Online Dictionary defines the word adequate as: Sufficient for a specific need or requirement; good enough. God gives us what we need when we need it. He doesn’t give us more. Why do you think this is? It might have something to do with humility and dependence.

Our ability to be equipped for every good work, isn’t dependent on our ability. It is dependent on God. This fact takes us back to the first two points…it’s all from Him, and it is meant for teaching, correction, training, etc. We have to be continuing to learn and study and grow.

Another familiar verse in the Bible about why we should study it is the following:

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

— 2 Timothy 2:15 (KJV)

I went for the King James Version of this verse, as it is the verse I remember growing up with. It is one of the few versions that uses the word study and links it to the ability to understand accurately what God’s word is saying. We don’t need to be ashamed if we know God’s word, what it says and what it means. If we look at the New American Standard version, it reads a little differently, but the end result is still the same. We are to be diligent workmen, who don’t need to be ashamed, because we know how to handle God’s word.

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.”

— 2 Timothy 2:15 (NASB 1995)

If we just look at this one verse we can come up with several more reasons we should study God’s Word.

1 - To be able to present ourselves to God.

Accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior is merely the first step in a life time of growth and knowledge as we get to know Him more and more. Not only are we getting to know Him better, but He is making us more like Christ. When we know His word, we can bring that to Him and show that we know Him and His desires for us. Knowing and studying His word is like giving a gift back to him. We are saying that we agree with what He has said.

2 - To be an unashamed workman.

Often what makes us feel ashamed in our Christian walk, is not what Jesus has done for us, or our belief in Him, but our inability to talk about those things. I believe one of the important ways we become better able to talk about our faith and defend it is by knowing what the Bible says. Regular study of the Word helps us to walk with Him without feeling unable to share our faith.

3 - To be able to accurately handle truth.

Regular study of God’s word will not only make us more confident, but will enable us to know what is true and what is untrue. There are many who believe the Bible is just another book. They might even acknowledge that it has historical significance, but they do not believe everything in it to be true. They argue that everything from creation and the flood, to the virgin birth and resurrection were just fabrications put together by a random string of zealots to lead people into some sort of cult like living. The problem with many of these supposed arguments is that they really don’t take into account the actual words of the scriptures. A question both my husband and I ask people who say they don’t believe is, “Have you ever read the book?” Most often the answer is, “No.”

Let’s not depend on the world to tell us whether to believe the Bible or not. Let’s allow the Holy Spirit to do what He is best at, revealing the truth in the living, God breathed, words of Scripture. Paul admonished us in the book of Colossians:

“8 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ. ”

— Colossians 2:8 (NASB 1995)

Paul also instructed Timothy about not listening to the “irreverent babble”.

“20 O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called “knowledge”—
21 which some have professed and thus gone astray from the faith.”

— I Timothy 6:20-21 (NASB 1995)

I hope this gives you a little motivation to start looking at the Scriptures with more time and care, for in studying His Word we will be blessed with a deeper relationship with Him.

“For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;
And the government will rest on His shoulders;
And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.”

— Isaiah 9:6 (NASB 1995)

Christmas in a Verse: A Look at Isaiah 9:6 - Part 2

December 21, 2023 by Amy Christensen in Abba, Abide in Christ, Adopted, Advent, Advent Scriptures, Baby Jesus, Being God's child, Being in Christ, Belief, Belief in God's Word, Belief in Jesus, Believe, Belief in the Bible, Bible, Bible study, Bible teaching, Blogging about God, Blogging, Blogging about Jesus, Blogging on Christianity, Blogging on faith, Blogging on life, Blogging on the Bible, Blogging on Christmas, Child like faith, Children of God, Christ became flesh, Christ's humility, Christ's sacrifice, Christ-like, Christian, Christian belief, Christian blog, Christian blogger, Christian faith, Christian faith blog, Christian life, Christmas, Christmas in a Verse, Christmas thoughts, Confidence in Christ, Coping in the holidays, End of life, Eternity mindset, Everlasting Father, Eternal Father, Words of Life, The word of God, The wonder of Jesus, Isaiah 9:6, Jesus as Messiah, Jesus became flesh, Jesus is our hope, Jesus is the light, Jesus is the truth, Learning from the Bible, Light in the darkness, Living for eternity, Magic of Christmas, Meditating on scripture, Messianic Prophecy, Our hope in christ, Prince of Peace, Father God, Mighty God, Thor, Psalm 50:!, Isaiah 63:1, Revelation 1:8, Revelation 21:6, Revelation 22:13, Romans 8:14-17, Adoptioin

This verse from Isaiah 9 rests in the midst of a description of the reign of a coming prince. We believe this passage is a Messianic passage and prophetic of the coming of Jesus and his future reign. He is the child referred to in this verse and the descriptors that follow are describing him.

Since the days are flying by, this week I am going to cover Mighty God, and Eternal Father. Once again let me reiterate these words translated from Hebrew and are as close to the correct meanings as the translators could be. I decided to lump these together since there are some characteristics in common between these names.

Mighty God

While Thor is a mighty god, he is both a small “g” and a fictional character. He cannot help us at all other than to be eye candy for those of us who like to see a muscular man with long blonde hair and a beard, swinging a hammer. Ha, ha. Even Thor had his limitations. He was bound by his flesh, at least when he was on earth, and while he could bring lightning from heaven, and fight without tiring, he wasn’t everywhere present and could not save people from the greatest enemy of all, sin. Move over Thanos, sin is responsible for wiping out entire populations due to its end result, death.

BUT JESUS! Jesus is the great warrior prince. He has a legion of warriors at his right hand and he merely needs to think and it will be done. He is the King of Kings, and the Lord of Lords. He met the enemy head on when He died on the cross, walked into hell and took the keys of death away from Satan, then He came out of the grave. He didn’t need a hammer, or a staff, or a spear. He worked in tandem with His Father and the Holy Spirit to give every single soul on this planet the ability to live…eternally. Not only is He God with a big “G”, but He is the Mighty God.

“The Mighty One, God, the Lord, has spoken, And summoned the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.”

— Psalm 50:1 (NASB 1995)

“Who is this who comes from Edom,
With garments of glowing colors from Bozrah,
This One who is majestic in His apparel,
Marching in the greatness of His strength?
“It is I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save.””

— Isaiah 63:1 (NASB 1995)

Eternal Father

***Image by*** ***Sandra Hak*** ***from*** ***Pixabay*** ***(AI Generated)***

Most of you are probably familiar with the term Father Christmas as a reference to Santa Claus. Father Christmas started in the English tradition in the 15th century and was a personification of the Christmas spirit. This eventually became what we now know today as Santa Claus. Once again we have a fictional being who embodies the ideal of a father who cares for and tends to his children. While Father Christmas has been around for a long time, he is not eternal. Even if we push the boundaries and say he is spirit, his formation has a place in history. In addition, Father Christmas, or Santa Claus might have a pure heart wanting to promote the ideas of love and generosity all throughout the year, he is still limited. He cannot change a person’s heart. He cannot take the addict and make them clean. He can give money, toys, clothes, food and more, but still the darkness of poverty, despair and loss continues.

Our Eternal Father is just that. He had no beginning and will have no end. In the book of Revelation, the final book, and the final word on what God’s judgement will look like for this world, we see God proclaim of Himself:

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

— Revelation 1:8 (NASB 1995)

“Then He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost.”

— Revelation 21:6 (NASB 1995)

“ I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”

— Revelation 22:13 (NASB 1995)

Remember our series in Romans 8, where we discussed verses 15 - 17?

“15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!”
16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God,
17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.”

— Romans 8:15 -17 (NASB 1995)

Our adoption into the family of God made us His children. We are no longer slaves to sin, and death. Remember, Jesus walked into hell and took the keys? Our Eternal Father gives us access to everything in His kingdom. He’s not only the best dad ever, He’s there forever.

I hope you are enjoying this look at the names of Jesus as seen in Isaiah 9. Next week, even though it is after Christmas I will discuss the Prince of Peace, and why it is even better to meditate on this name after the holidays are over.

Merry Christmas!

Mulling it Over - Romans 8:18-25 Part 1: Of Suffering and Longing

October 05, 2023 by Amy Christensen in Belief, Belief in God's Word, Belief in Jesus, Belief in the Bible, Believe, Bible study, Bible teaching, Bible, Blogging, Blogging about God, Blogging about Jesus, Blogging on Christianity, Blogging on faith, Blogging on life, Blogging on prayer, Blogging on the Bible, Children of God, Faith, Faith Blog, Faith blogger, Faith in God, Faith in Jesus, Faith in the bible, Mulling It over, Romans 8, Romans 8:18-25, Of Suffering and Longing, When storms come, Waiting for glory, Waiting with eagerness, Truth, Trusting God's word, Trusting God, Trust in the Lord, True knowledge, The work of Christ, The word of God, The old becomes new, The Father and the Son, the Christian life, The Bible transforms, Teaching, Surviving difficulties, Suffering with Christ, Suffering, Studying God's word, Struggling, Spiritual wisdom, Spiritual understanding, Seeing God, Sanctification, Salvation in Jesus, Ruminate, Rot and decay, Righteousness, Redemption, Reading the Bible, Our hope in christ, My Hope, Looking at scripture, Living for eternity, Reflecting Christ, Fully known, Creation, Creation groans, Creation waits, Sons of God

Another month has gone by and we have come back around to Mulling Over Romans chapter 8. This chapter is full of information that is pertinent to our walk with Christ and to our future with Him. I know it can be hard to think about the future when our days are so full of the present, but one day we will know fully our inheritance in Christ Jesus. As it is, our lives at this point are merely reflections of Christ, and many of us have dirty mirrors. God is often trying to clean those mirrors with a glorified bottle of Windex and a rough cloth, and that can make us uncomfortable, but remember our goal is to be like Christ, so clean on Father, clean on!

***Image by*** ***Simon Kadula*** ***from*** ***Pixabay***

“18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
19 For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God.
20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope
21 that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
22 For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.
23 And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.
24 For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees?
25 But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.”

— Romans 8:18-25 (NASB 1995)

This is a longer section so we’ll take it a chunk at a time.

For I consider…

I wanted to take these three words by themselves because they are so important. One of the things I often hear Christians accused of is that they don’t think. They take the scriptures, and the historicity of their belief system on blind faith. While it is true that we are walking by faith, it is also true that we, with the Holy Spirit’s help, are able to think just as intellectually about our faith as someone who has studied for years and has multiple degrees.

Webster’s Online Dictionary defines the word consider in the following ways: to think about carefully; to think of especially with regard to taking some action; to take into account; to regard or treat in an attentive or kindly way; to gaze on steadily or reflectively; to judge or classify; regard; suppose; reflect or deliberate.

When we look at the book of God, the Bible, we need to consider what we are reading. We also need to look at life and consider what it means, and how what we are doing, or going through pertains to our faith, or how our faith pertains to it. We aren’t meant to just bull doze our way through life giving no regard to how our actions or words are affecting the people around us.

***Image by*** ***Paul Brennan*** ***from*** ***Pixabay***

In this particular passage the word consider relates directly to the words that follow.

…that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

I have been emphasizing this idea of suffering over the last few months, not because I am trying to be a downer, but because suffering is inevitable. We all, at some point in time, will suffer. We will know illness, loss, grief, sadness, anger, fear and the overwhelming reality of a busy life in a chaotic and fallen world. It is not bad or wrong to consider our suffering.

“12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you;
13 but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation. ”

— I Peter 4:12-13 (NASB 1995)

Paul, however, did not want us to be solely focused on our suffering. In fact, He says that whatever we are currently suffering through is not worthy to be compared with the glory that is going to be revealed to us. Let’s just sit there for a minute.

Think about all the bad stuff you have been through. Some of you have lived through the typical minor inconveniences life offers like, car break downs, the fridge stops working, or the toilet backs up. Others have walked a bumpier path. You have lost a job, a home or been through a divorce. Still others have seen suffering in the form of addictions, jail time, death of a loved one, or a chronic, incurable disease. No matter what the suffering, it is not worthy of being compared to the glory that awaits us! Isn’t that amazing? What hope is ours that the suffering we are going through on this planet will pale in comparison to the joy and glory we will know when we see Jesus face to face.

***Image by*** ***🆓 Use at your Ease 👌🏼*** ***from*** ***Pixabay***

For the anxious longing of creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God.

Have you ever thought about the fact that the world: the trees, birds, fish, animals, rocks and so on have longings? Is it possible for creation to be anxious as it waits for the revealing of the sons of God? Stay with me here. I am not talking about something weird or spooky. Let’s back up a minute.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1). If God created them, don’t they have His signature on them in a similar way that we have His signature on us. Granted we are human beings and we are made in the image of God, while creation was not, but that does not mean that creation is unable to recognize its creator and recognize the position of humanity as its caretaker.

***Image by*** ***Evgeni Tcherkasski*** ***from*** ***Pixabay***

There is a reason creation waits eagerly which we see in the next verse.

For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope…

The creation did not want to be cursed. It enjoyed its relation to its Creator and to its caretaker. It rejoiced in the growing and the greening, the fullness and the fellowship. When sin came into the world, God didn’t just send Adam and Eve out of the the beautiful garden of Eden, but the creation changed. It became rife with weeds and thorns. Where once all animals lived in harmony, now certain animals became predators and all others became prey. In addition, creation no longer bore the fruit of the relation between it and its Creator, but was subject to futility, disease, rot and death.

***Image by*** ***Ilo*** ***from*** ***Pixabay***

But God…

In hope…

…that the creation itself will also be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

This was God’s hope from the foundation of the world. He knew it all before it began. He knew when He set into motion the creation of a planet and the filling of that sphere of rock and stone with all that is living, and breathing, moving and reaching…He knew that His beautiful creation would suffer and die. So He also created the plan, the One, the Savior, the Son. It was only by this, the gift of pure, unselfish love, that the whole of creation would be able to be set free. But, it will not happen until we are face to face, fully knowing as we have been fully known (1 Corinthians 13:12); when we become His perfect reflection.

Next time we will continue our look at this section of Romans 8 by looking at the Groaning and the Hope.

Have a great weekend!

Mulling it Over - Romans 8:14-17

September 07, 2023 by Amy Christensen in Adopted, Adopted by God, Apostle Paul, Becoming a child, Being afraid, Being God's child, Being in Christ, Belief, Belief in God's Word, Belief in Jesus, Belief in the Bible, Believe, Bible, Bible study, Bible teaching, Blogging, Blogging about God, Blogging about Jesus, Blogging on Christianity, Blogging on faith, Blogging on life, Blogging on prayer, Blogging on the Bible, Children of God, Christ became flesh, Christ's sacrifice, Christ-like, Christian, Christian belief, Christian blog, Christian blogger, Christian faith, Christian faith blog, Christian life, Convinced of Christ, Daughters of God, Disciples of Jesus, Encouraging words, Eternity mindset, Faith, Faith Blog, Faith blogger, Faith in God, Faith in Jesus, Faith in the bible, Faith in the Holy Spirit, Faith inspiration, Flesh vs. Spirit, Glorified body, Glorified with Christ, Glorifying Jesus, God as Father, God as King, God is for us, God is good, God is sovereign, God is Spirit, God loves us, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, God's word, God's work in my life, Growing in Our faith, Growth in God, Heirs with Christ, Honoring God, Holy Spirit, Hope in God, Jesus death on the cross, Jesus is our hope, Jesus is the way, Jesus resurrection, Jesus sacrifice, Jesus' example to us, Jesus' sufferings, King of Kings, Knowing God, Learning from the Bible, Looking at scripture, Mulling It over, Our relationship to God, Our purpose, Our spirit, our walk with God, Relationship with God, Romans 8, Romans 8:14-17, Words of Life, Walking with Christ, Walking in the Spirit, Walk in the Spirit, Waiting for glory, Trusting God's word

We have been working our way through the 8th chapter of the book of Romans in the New Testament. Paul’s letter to the Jewish Christians at Rome is full of doctrine relevant to the Christian faith including the infamous “Roman Road”, a miniature gospel in just a few verses (Romans 3:23, 5:8, 6:23, 10:9-10, and 10:13). It also gives plenty of teaching on how to conduct ourselves with relation to others.

***Image by*** ***pascal OHLMANN*** ***from*** ***Pixabay***

Today we are looking at the following verses:

“14 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!”
16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God,
17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified ”

— Romans 8:14-17 (NASB 1995)

These verses are essential to understanding our position in God’s kingdom. When we receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we are instantly received into God’s family. What does this really mean, especially in light of the dysfunction of so many families in the world around us. Today it seems we know more broken families than whole ones; blended families than original families; families filled with struggles and heartbreak. Why would I want to be part of that? As we dissect these verses we will gain a better understanding of the beauty of being part of the family of God.

***Image by*** ***Jeff Jacobs*** ***from*** ***Pixaba***y

For all who are being led by the Spirit of God…

These verses are meant to describe those who are believers in Christ. Not just belief that He existed, and was a great teacher, but that His purpose was to live, die and rise again so that we might be able to be part of His family. If we are part of this family we are led by His Spirit. Yes, we can quench and grieve the Holy Spirit, but if we are growing in our relationship with Him and becoming more Christ like, we will respond to His leading.

…these are the sons of God.

Right away in this first verse we receive our positional attribute. We are “the sons (and daughters, of course), of God.” Paul will spend the next few verses putting an exclamation point on this position.

***Image by*** ***Redleaf_Lodi*** ***from*** ***Pixabay***

For you have not receive a spirit of slavery, leading to fear again…

This is an important sentence, so read it again! If you are a child of God, a daughter of God, you are not enslaved, no matter how you might feel; no matter your struggles, fears, addictions, bad habits, failures, or worries. When you begin feeling enslaved, know right away, that spirit is not from God. God does not want us to be fearful. Everything He has done for us was to raise us out of the valley of fear, so that we might wander freely on the mountaintops of peace.

The reason Paul wrote these words, by the inspiration and leading of the Holy Spirit, was in part to confirm to the Christians in the church at Rome that they were not enslaved to anyone or anything. Rome may be the governing entity, a believer might even by a slave in their socioeconomic standing, but they were not to be enslaved to any teaching or doctrine that tried to add to the gospel. Christ, and Christ alone.

Any time we add to the gospel of Jesus Christ we bring ourselves under the enslavement of ideas, thoughts and teachings that are not accurate. In turn this thinking leads to enslavement and that leads to fear. We will never be good enough. We will never do enough. Our purpose, worth and standing is given to us by God through our relationship with Jesus. To do anything else will find us never able to be that person, or attain that level of “goodness”. We will be enslaved, and that will leave us always feeling fearful.

***Image by*** ***Joel McGInley*** ***from*** ***Pixabay***

…but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons, by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!”

Again, Paul reminds us we have been received into the family of God. He makes it legal by using the term, adoption. God didn’t just invite us to come dwell with Him, eating His food, using His resources, and in turn benefiting from His limitless wealth and love. He went so far as to actually adopt us. That adoption is both a binding legal act, and a practice is interesting. Not only do we legally belong to the family of God, but we can take on the characteristic of children belonging to their biological parent by calling God in the familial and familiar sense, “Abba! Father!” Calling God Abba is an intimate term and acknowledges Him as the one who knows us best.

But how can we be sure of all of this?

The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit, that we are children of God…

The Holy Spirit who dwells in you when you call upon the name of Jesus; when you believe in what He did on the cross and that He rose again; that Spirit testifies with our own spirit that we are children of God. There is a deep, solid confirmation within us when we turn off the noise and really allow God to speak to us that we are one with Him. We are His kin, His children, His daughters and sons.

…and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs of Christ…

If the last few verses didn’t convince you, then this should. Adoption means we are not only children of God, but children of the King. We are fellow heirs with our brother, Christ. We will inherit, as He will inherit the glory and riches of His Father’s heavenly kingdom. This inheritance is not without cost.

…if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified.

Living life as a Christ follower in this fallen world means we suffer. But our suffering is not in vain. We suffer, as Christ suffered, for a great a mighty purpose, the glorification of our God and King, our Abba, Father. The beauty is found in the last phrase, “…that we may also be glorified.” You see, just as God the Father will glorify His Son, Jesus, He will also glorify us. What a glorious day that will be!

Faith Inspiration - Be Thou My Vision

August 10, 2023 by Amy Christensen in Armor of God, Being God's child, Being in Christ, Being in the light, Belief, Belief in God's Word, Belief in Jesus, Belief in the Bible, Believe, Bible, Bible teaching, Blogging, Blogging about God, Blogging about Jesus, Blogging on Christianity, Blogging on faith, Blogging on life, Blogging on the Bible, Caste tower, Child like faith, Christ-like, Christian, Christian author, Christian belief, Christian blog, Christian blogger, Christian faith, Christian faith blog, Christian life, Christian music, Be Thou My Vision, Christian Hymn, Learning from hymns, Growing in Our faith, Growth in God, Hope in God, Hymn Theology, Imagery, Inspired by scripture, Inspired by music, Jesus, Jesus became flesh, Jesus death on the cross, Jesus is our hope, Jesus is the truth, Jesus is the source, Jesus is the light, Knowing God, Know God Better, Learning from the Bible, Making choices, Mind set on the flesh, Our hope in christ, Praising God, Spiritual protection, Spiritual wisdom, Struggling, Struggling with the flesh, Sword of the Spirit, God is our breastplate, God is our shield, God is our sword, God is our might, God is our tower

This hymn has been inspiring Christ followers for over one thousand years. Originally an Old Irish hymn, the song was translated into English by Mary E. Byrne in 1905, and put into verses by Eleanor H. Hull. (Information take from Hymnary.org).

“1 Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
be all else but naught to me, save that Thou art;
be Thou my best thought in the day and the night,
both waking and sleeping, Thy presence my light.

2 Be Thou my Wisdom, be Thou my true Word;
be Thou ever with me and I with Thee, Lord;
be Thou my great Father, and I Thy true son,
be Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

3 Be Thou my Breastplate, my Sword for the fight;
be Thou my whole Armor, be Thou my true Might;
be Thou my soul’s Shelter, be Thou my strong Tow’r,
O raise Thou me heav’nward, great Pow’r of my pow’r.

4 Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,
be Thou mine inheritance, now and always;
be Thou and Thou only the first in my heart,
O High King of heaven, my Treasure Thou art.

5 High King of heaven, Thou heaven’s bright Sun,
O grant me its joys, after vict’ry is won;
Great Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
still be Thou my Vision, O Ruler of all.”

— Be Thou My Vision - Psalms and Hymns to the Living God (From Hymnary.org)

I think this is a beautiful hymn, and one that is rarely sung. Some may say it sounds like a dirge, but I like the lilting, Celtic style music. Let’s take a look at it verse by verse.

***Image by*** ***Joe*** ***from*** ***Pixabay***

Verse 1 - The writer of the hymn pleads with God to be his vision. He wants God to consume him. He recognizes his own struggle with the flesh and realizes that God’s thoughts are his best thoughts in the day and the night. He desires God be his light.

As we saw last week, our struggle with the flesh is ongoing, but if God is our vision, we can and will have victory, and we will continually be in His light.

“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

— Matthew 6:33 (NASB 1995)

***Image by*** ***Thomas Wolter*** ***from*** ***Pixabay***

Verse 2 - The author not only wants God to be his Vision, but to be His true word and to dwell in him, and he in Him, always. He recognizes that God is his Father, and he is His son.

“If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.”

— John 14:3 (NASB 1995)

“Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.”

— John 14:23 (NASB 1995)

“15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!”
16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God,
17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.”

— Romans 8:15-17 (NASB 1995)

God dwells with us if we love Him and keep His word. He is our heavenly Father, and we are His children. Being His children means we are heirs with Christ. We are children of the King!

***Image by*** ***Donna Kirby*** ***from*** ***Pixabay***

Verse 3 - He knows God is his breastplate, his sword, his FULL armor, his might, his shelter, his tower and his power. His desire is to be raised “heavenward”. This may have had two connotations. It may have referred to his mindset, his thoughts and desires, but it also may have been the longing for finally being home with his Savior.

“13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.
14 Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16 in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

— Ephesians 6:13-17 (NASB 1995)

“The name of the Lord is a strong tower; The righteous runs into it and is safe.”

— Psalm 18:10 (NASB 1995)

“4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, ”

— Ephesians 2:4-6 (NASB 1995)

***Image by*** ***NikolayF.com*** ***from*** ***Pixabay***

Verse 4 - In this verse the author recognizes God is all he needs. He doesn’t run after riches. He doesn't seek the praise of men. He knows the “High King of Heaven” is the only treasure he needs.

“But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal;”

— Matthew 6:20 (NASB 1995)

***Image by*** ***Tim Hill*** ***from*** ***Pixabay***

Verse 5 - The last verse is a final stand on the foundation of all that is God:

High King of Heaven

Heaven’s bright Sun

Great Heart of my own heart

Ruler of all

God is all these things and more that we cannot comprehend with our finite minds. The author knows that all his joy and all his victory our found in Christ. He also desires that no matter what happens he would keep God as his Vision.

“O sing to the Lord a new song, For He has done wonderful things, His right hand and His holy arm have gained the victory for Him.”

— Psalm 98:1 (NASB 1995)

“...but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

— I Corinthians 15:57 (NASB 1995)

On a personal note, I have always loved this hymn. When I gave my life to Jesus at the age of 12, I knew I wanted it to be for keeps. I wanted Him to be foremost and forever my vision. Unfortunately, ever since that age I have struggled in that desire. My vision is often clouded by doubts, fears, and failures. My eyes often wander to things that might satisfy my flesh such as food, clothes, or fictional worlds.

The counselor I am currently going to said it is absolutely normal to have set backs in life. The difference comes in how long I choose to stay in the setback mindset. The phrase “begin again”, is a mantra we all can put into play. As long as I have breathe I will begin again. I will place my eyes back on His face and know His amazing grace. I will say again, “Be Thou my Vision.”

Mulling it Over - Romans 8:12-13

August 03, 2023 by Amy Christensen in Abide in Christ, Accountabilitiy, Acknowledge Him, Back to basics, Being faithful, Being in Christ, Belief, Belief in God's Word, Belief in Jesus, Belief in the Bible, Believe, Bible, Bible study, Bible teaching, Blogging, Blogging about God, Blogging about Jesus, Blogging on Christianity, Blogging on faith, Blogging on life, Blogging on the Bible, Capturing our thoughts, Choices, Christ became flesh, Christ's sacrifice, Christ-like, Christian, Christian belief, Christian blog, Christian blogger, Christian faith, Christian faith blog, Christian life, Death, Death and dying, Destroying fortresses, Difficulty, Disciples of Christ, Discipline, Discouragement, Disobedience, Faith, Faith Blog, Faith blogger, Faith in God, Faith in Jesus, Faith in the bible, Faith inspiration, Feeding our appetites, Feeling worthless, Feelings of worry, Fighting the enemy, Flesh and Sin, Flesh begets flesh, Flesh vs. Spirit, God is with us, God loves us, God provides, God provides a way, God the Creator, God the Father, God the Holy Spirit, God the Son, God's authority, God's faithfulness, God's love, God's word, God's work in my life, Growing in Our faith, Growth, Growth in God, Learning from the Bible, Listening to God, Living in the flesh, Living in the Spirit, Walking in the flesh, Walking in the light, Walking in the dark, Walking in the Spirit, Walking with Christ, Wisdom from God, True knowledge, Thinking on the Spirit, Thinking on the flesh, The Spirit, Mulling It over, Romans 8, Romans 8:12-13, Memorizing Scripture

This week’s Mulling it Over passage is going to continue to look at Romans chapter 8. The book of Romans is full of doctrine that relates specifically to our standing before God without Christ and with Christ. It deals, in detail, with the flesh versus the Spirit and how that plays out in our lives culminating either in the devastation and destruction of the one (flesh), or the fullness and life of the other (Spirit).

Today I am only going to look at two verses.

“12 So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh—
13 for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. ”

— Romans 8:12-13 (NASB 1995)

Verse 12 tells us, “…we are under obligation…” What does it mean to be under obligation? Being obligated means I have a duty or responsibility to someone or something. In this case Paul is telling us we have a responsibility “…not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.” We are duty bound to not be living according to the flesh. That sounds pretty serious, doesn’t it? The next verse tells us why.

Verse 13 begins with a devastating statement. “For if you are living according to the flesh, you must die…” Whoa! Now wait a minute. How can we not be living according to the flesh? We are, after all, walking in our skin, or flesh. In a manner of speaking we are always living in the flesh.

***Image by*** ***Andrew Martin*** ***from*** ***Pixabay***

The idea of “living according to the flesh” isn’t speaking just of the physical, fleshly body we are stuck in while on this earth. Living according to the flesh, means that we are letting our flesh rule our lives. We are living for our desires, our passions, our lusts and our self. We want what we want, when we want it. If you are a Christ follower and think you no longer live according to the flesh, don’t fool yourself. We are in a constant state of dying at all times. Look at the rest of verse 13.

“…But if, by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the the body, you will live.” The tense of the word “putting” means we are doing it on a regular basis. If it had been in the past, it would have said, “…if, by the Spirit you put to death…” This would have changed the meaning making it that we only had to put our flesh to death once.

Before you get discouraged let’s remember what Christ did on the cross. Verse 3 of Roman’s 8 reminds us that God sent his own Son to condemn sin in the flesh. Jesus was made flesh for us and then put to death for us. The moment we align ourselves with Christ we have His blood covering us and giving us the ability to die to sin, and flesh. We are dead, because of what sin has done, but alive because of what Christ has done.

How do we put this flesh to death on a regular basis? If you are like me, you might find yourself easily sliding into old habits like feeling sorry for yourself, thinking you are not enough, turning to food or purchasing items to make you feel better. These are all “fleshly” rather than “Spiritual” forms of coping. I am learning, to battle and put to death the flesh there are several things I need to do.

***Image by*** ***Firmbee*** ***from*** ***Pixabay***

1 - Keep short accounts. Checking in with God regularly helps me to keep my mind and heart where it needs to be and keeps me from focusing on the flesh.

***Image by*** ***StockSnap*** ***from*** ***Pixabay***

2 - Find some accountability. I have a good friend that I know I can text any time and she will pray for and with me. I also have a group of women I meet with virtually once a week for a Bible study, that I know I could check in with any one of them if I am struggling with my flesh.

3 - Memorize God’s word. This is one I don’t do nearly enough, in fact hardly at all, and of that I am ashamed. God’s word is our sword, and if you want a quick way to put your flesh to death, the sword of the Spirit is it.

***Image by*** ***Himsan*** ***from*** ***Pixabay***

4 - Pray without ceasing. You all know this from 1 Thessalonians 5:17, but we need to make it a reality in our lives. Praying doesn’t have to be an on your knees posture. It isn’t about physical posture, but heart posture, although, getting on my knees or even flat on my face on the floor does wonders for my prayer life and for my dying to the flesh.

***Image by*** ***bangindsoft*** ***from*** ***Pixabay***

5 - My sister-in-law gave me some great advice, which she had gotten from a book she was reading, take life 24 hours at a time. When you wake up in the morning, before you even get out of bed, dedicate the next 24 hour period to God, submitting to His divine appointments. Sometimes, life just doesn’t go as planned, but when we begin to see that each 24 hour day is a gift from Him, even the bad stuff can be used for our growth and His glory. This is Spirit living, not flesh living.

Believe me ladies when I say, I am struggling right now to live in the Spirit rather than the flesh, but even taking the time to mull over these two verses has brought me back to His center, and that is the only way we can really live.

Next month we will delve deeper into Romans 8.

Relentless - Part 4: The Pursuer - The Prince

April 27, 2023 by Amy Christensen in Belief, Belief in God's Word, Belief in Jesus, Belief in the Bible, Believe, Blogging, Blogging on Christianity, Blogging on faith, Blogging on life, Children of God, Christ became flesh, Christ's sacrifice, Christian, Christian allegory, Christian belief, Christian blog, Christian blogger, Christian faith, Christian faith blog, Christian fiction, Allegorical story, Allegory of Christianity, Faith Blog, Faith blogger, Faith in God, Faith in Jesus, Faith in the bible, Faith inspiration, Father, Fiction, Fictional short story, Fictional story, Fighting the enemy, God as King, God as Father, Patience, Prayer, Soldiers, Shadowed ones, Writing a story, Writing, Walking away from God, Walk in the flesh, The Shadowed Ones, The manipulator, the Christian life, Suffering, Struggling, Spiritual warfare, Spiritual protection, Spiritual understanding

He paced the floor, as he often did when things weighed heavily on him. He could feel the cool night air filtering in from the open doors that led to the balcony. He could smell the fire as it flickered brightly, seemingly without a care in the world. There were moments he wished he could be that free, but he cared too deeply.

He could not get her off his mind. She was his sister. She had become thus when she gave her heart to his father in the oath; an oath that could not be undone. Why did she not want to return to them? Why did she run away in the first place? Why did she not see how much they cared for her and wanted her to come home? Didn’t she know how her actions tore at his father’s heart? Didn’t she know the shadowed ones were always looking for an opportunity to destroy her?

The more he meditated on it, the faster he paced.

His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on his door.

“Come!”

His father entered. His face, always alight with passion and energy, was shadowed with care.

“Father! Do you have news? Has Laney returned?”

His father moved to the plush, oversized chair near the fireplace and fell into it with a sigh.

He quickly took the other chair next to his father and waited. It was never wise to push the King for information. He knew him like he knew himself. The King would speak when he was ready. The fire grew dim before the King finally spoke.

“These next few weeks are critical. While she cannot see it, she has crossed into their territory. They will take advantage of every single bad choice she makes. It will be dangerous for her. I need you to post a small company of the Guard around her. They are to watch and keep the darkness at bay, but not interfere.”

“Father! Why can’t we just pull her out? Why must we let this go on, leaving her to her own will; watching her dive deeper and deeper into destruction?”

“You know why, my son. Her will is strong. Almost as strong as yours.” The king smiled gently. “But you used your will to accomplish my purposes. She is not there yet. It must be her choice. To take her back by force will only cause her to rebel more earnestly. Believe me, I know her inside and out.”

The king rose from the chair and he followed suit.

His father grasped his shoulders. “I know how hard this is for you. You have been there living among them as one of their own. You are intimate with their limitations and struggles, but you know I am trustworthy. You placed yourself at my behest, even though it involved great sacrifice.”

He looked intently into his father’s golden eyes. He saw what he always did. Mercy, patience, forgiveness, and a love so deep it was unfathomable.

He nodded. “I know, father. You are right. I know that she is there by her own choice, but it pains me to see her suffer.”

“You are not alone in that, my son.” He turned to go. “When you are done gathering the Guard, go to Arabella. Together you can pray.”

Wonderful Words of Life - Information or Transformation: Part 2

April 21, 2023 by Amy Christensen in Wonderful words of life, Words of Life, Work of the Holy Spirit, Wisdom from God, Walk in the Spirit, Waiting for glory, Truth, Trusting God's word, Trusting God, Trust in the Lord, The work of Christ, The word of God, The Spirit, the Christian life, A new creation, Analogy of Christian life, Being in Christ, Belief, Belief in God's Word, Belief in Jesus, Belief in the Bible, Believe, Bible study, Bible, Bible teaching, Blogging, Blogging about God, Blogging about Jesus, Blogging on Christianity, Blogging on faith, Blogging on life, Blogging on the Bible, Christ-like, Christian, Christian belief, Christian blog, Christian blogger, Christian faith, Christian faith blog, Christian life, D.L. Moody, Transformation

Last week I shared a quote from D. L. Moody.

“The Bible was not given for our information but for our transformation.”

— D. L. Moody

The reason I started with this last week under my Faith Inspiration column was due to the fact that a single quote like this one can be so inspiring, and can cause us to look deeply into God’s word. I fleshed out the idea of our part in our own transformation, by choosing to read, study and meditate on God’s word. This week I wanted to discuss God’s part in the transformative process. To me those words about His power and work in our lives are wonderful words. Let’s dive in.

Last week I used the analogy of a butterfly to explain our part in the transformation process. We know God is the one who gave the butterfly the ability to transform, but the insect itself has to make the cocoon and push it’s way out once the transformation is complete.

This week I want to use the transformation of leaves in the fall as the analogy for God’s part in the transformative process. A deciduous tree goes through the process of leaf change every fall. As the weather cools, the tree gets less sunlight and in turn the chlorophyll in the leaves breaks down, leaving behind other pigments like yellow and orange. A few trees go through a chemical change where sugar gets trapped in the leaves producing new pigments called anthocyanin which are typically red. (Information from Smithsonian’s online article Why Do Leaves Change Colors in the Fall?)

This transformative process in trees is a process the Creator of the tree put in place. It is something that He instilled in the tree with the idea that as the season changes from summer to fall, the tree will begin that transformation. The tree doesn’t go to the mall and pick out a new gown to wear to the Autumn ball, the tree transforms as God makes it happen.

Image by 👀 Mabel Amber, who will one day from Pixabay

While the transformation in our walk with Him happens in part by our choosing to study and know Him more deeply, our complete redemption, justification and sanctification is the work of God. Let’s review those two passages.

“20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;
21 who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.”

— Philippians 3:20-21 (NASB 1995)

When we die, or when Jesus comes again, we will receive new, transformed bodies. Our humble state of living in the flesh will be brought into conformity with His glory. Revelation 21 says there will be a new heaven and a new earth, and that there will be no more death, crying, mourning or pain. The old will be passed away.

“15 But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart;
16 but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.
17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.”

— 2 Corinthians 3:15-18 (NASB 1995)

This next passage reconfirms this idea that the transformation comes from the Lord. The physical Israelites were unable to truly understand the prophecies in the Old Testament, because they were unable to accept that Jesus was the fulfillment of those prophecies, thus the veil that still lies over their hearts. However, whoever turns to and believes in the work that Jesus did through His death and resurrection, Jew or Gentile, he/she has the veil removed and they are filled with the Holy Spirit receiving liberty.

Having the veil removed we are able to see the glory of the Lord and are being transformed into that same image, the image of Christ, from glory to glory. It is from the Lord; a work that He set into motion and accomplishes by His Spirit.

Going back to our beautiful trees, we see that they are transformed from glory to glory. The beauty of their starkness in the winter is now being transformed into the newness as the greening of spring is taking place. However, their true beauty does not compare until their leaves begin to die in the fall. That is when the hidden mysteries of their Creator are fully known. We will not fully know, until we meet Him face to face.

“12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known.”

— 1 Corinthians 13:12 (NASB 1995)

The fact that God is transforming us into the image of His beloved Son, so that one day we will be glorified, just as He is glorified gives me hope. I hope it does for you as well.

Have a great weekend!

Mulling it Over - Romans 8:3-4 - Easter Thoughts

April 06, 2023 by Amy Christensen in Belief, Belief in God's Word, Belief in Jesus, Belief in the Bible, Believe, Blogging, Blogging about God, Blogging about Jesus, Blogging on Christianity, Blogging on faith, Blogging on life, Blogging on the Bible, Bible, Bible study, Bible teaching, Christ's righteousness, Christ's vulnerability, Christ-like, Christian, Christian belief, Christian blog, Christian blogger, Christian faith, Christian faith blog, Christian life, Confidence in Christ, Disobedience, Escaping corruption, Faith, Faith Blog, Faith blogger, Faith in God, Faith in Jesus, Faith in the bible, Faith inspiration, Father, Feeding our appetites, God is faithful, God is for us, God loves us, God provides, God provides a way, God the Father, God the Holy Spirit, God the Son, God's authority, God's faithfulness, God's love, God's word, Growing in Our faith, Holy Spirit, Hope in God, Jesus is the way, Jesus sacrifice, Learning from the Bible, Looking at scripture, Meditating on scripture, Mighty God, Mulling It over, My Hope, New Life, New Life in Christ, Our hope in christ, Reading the Bible, Redemption, Relationship with God, Romans 8, Romans 8:3-4, Sacrifice, Salvation in Jesus, Satan the serpent, Scripture, Struggling with sin, Studying God's word, the Christian life, The Law, Old Testament Law, Old Covenant, New Testament, New Covenant, The law is a shadow, The law is a mirror, The law and flesh, The law was weak, Jesus became flesh, Jesus as an offering, The requirement of the la, The Law was flesh, Flesh and Sin, Law, Fulfillment of the law, Easter, Christ's humility, Christ's sacrifice, Christ became flesh, Unblemished lamb, Perfect Sacrifice

When I study scripture, one of the first things I do is exactly what I do here with you, I take the verses I am studying apart. Words are important. How those words are used is important. Obviously, we are looking at English words, not the original language of Hebrew or Greek, so the words have already been translated into a form for us. It would definitely be advantageous if we could read the Bible in it’s original language to truly understand the nuances and meanings of some of the words, but I trust God. I know that the book that He allowed to be translated into our language is just as true and powerful as the original documents that were penned so many, many years ago.

Last month we looked at the first two verses of Romans 8, which reminded us that we do not stand condemned if we are in Christ Jesus, and the law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus has set us free from the Law of sin and death. Let’s continue our study by looking at verses 3 and 4.

“3 For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,
4 so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”

— Romans 8:3-4 (NASB 1995)

As we move into Easter weekend and contemplate what our Lord Jesus did for us, it is apropos that we look over these two verses.

Let’s change it up just a little bit this week and instead of going through this phrase by phrase, let’s look at what we can learn about the Law in these two verses.

1 - The Law was weak - The Law, given in the Old Testament to Moses on the mountain, was given as both a mirror and a shadow. It was given as a mirror to reflect sin. The whole point of the Law was to point out and remind people they are sinners, separated from a Holy God.

The Law was also a shadow of the spiritual reality. The reality is that we cannot save ourselves. No matter how much we try to obey the law, we still fall short of God’s holy identity. Romans 3:23 says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” There is only one way to have right standing with this Almighty being and that is through the sacrifice of blood. That sacrifice came through His son, Jesus.

2 - The Law was flesh - Everything that the law encompassed in the Old Testament had to do with deeds of the flesh. The sacrifices, the portions, the building, the lineage, the priesthood, the garments, the tabernacle and temple furniture and ornamental pieces, the commandments…all of it had to do with this life, in this flesh. Even today, we are all about doing, or what can be done or accomplished in our flesh.

Image by roxanawilliams1920 from Pixabay

Don’t get me wrong, doing is good and it absolutely should be a part of our lives as human beings and as Christians. However, the ability to save ourselves has nothing to do with our flesh. Even Paul in the book of Galatians reprimands the Jews who are trying to add to the gospel by telling new converts to Christ they have to be circumcised. (See Galatians 3 and 4.)

3 - The Law and the Flesh are associated with sin - God created Adam and Eve with fleshly bodies, but in the Garden of Eden that flesh was meant to be enjoyed, and used to take care of the animals and all the things that God had created. Sin came about when Eve, tempted by Satan in his serpent form, wanted to taste the fruit that was forbidden. It was the desire of the flesh that caused her and her husband to fall. If they would have immediately ran to their loving Father with their fleshly desire, not only would they have remained pure, but then sin wouldn’t have been given reign in the flesh. As it was, they were cast out of the Garden and became painfully aware of now frail and sinful their flesh was.

From that first connection of flesh to sin, came about the need for the Law, a shadow of what was to come in the fleshly form of Jesus Christ who would take away the sins of the world.

4 - The Law was fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ - God in His great goodness and fathomless love provided! Isn’t it amazing that the very God with whom we in our flesh, broke covenant, was prepared from before the foundation of the world to provide the needed, perfect and unblemished lamb to be a sacrifice for our darkened hearts. Not only did he provide the perfect sacrifice, but it came in the person of His own son, Jesus Christ. In this, He and the Father were one. The son did what the Father wanted, because the Son loved the Father and loved us.

Christ was made flesh and dwelt among us…it is important that we understand He had to take on flesh for His sacrifice to fulfill the requirement of the Law. The Law required a fleshly sacrifice particularly for the atonement of sin. What was a shadow in the Old Testament became a reality in the New Testament. The Old Covenant was set aside for the New Covenant.

What a blessing is ours, for we were born in the time of the New Covenant, or the New Testament. We are not dependent on our own flesh to be one with God. The requirement of the law is fulfilled in our flesh because Jesus became flesh, and was the perfect sacrifice for all. Now we live, not according to the law of the flesh, but the law of the Spirit.

I hope you enjoyed this week’s post. Have a beautiful Easter weekend! Until next time, keep seeking Him.

Faith Inspiration - The Prayers of Paul

March 10, 2023 by Amy Christensen in Adopted by God, Apostle Paul, Back to basics, Bearing fruit, Being God's child, Being in Christ, Belief, Belief in God's Word, Belief in Jesus, Belief in the Bible, Believe, Bible, Bible study, Bible teaching, Blogging, Blogging about God, Blogging about Jesus, Blogging on Christianity, Blogging on faith, Blogging on life, Blogging on the Bible, Blogging on prayer, Paul's prayers, Children of God, Christ-like, Christian, Christian belief, Christian blog, Christian blogger, Christian faith, Christian faith blog, Christian life, Coming back to God, Confidence in Christ, Difficulty, Disciples of Christ, Disciples of Jesus, Colossians 1:9-12, God is all powerful, God is faithful, God is for us, God is good, God is Spirit, God loves us, God provides, God the Father, God the Holy Spirit, God the Son, God's faithfulness, Holy Spirit, Hope in God, Heirs with Christ, Humility, Inspired by scripture, Jesus, Jesus is our hope, Jesus is the life, Jesus is the light, Jesus is the truth, Jesus is the way, Knowing God, Know God Better, Knowledge of God, Learning from the Bible, Looking at scripture, Meditating on scripture, Mulling It over, New mind, Pray without ceasing, Prayer, Prayer for hope, Praying for the saints, Praying for ourselves, Reading the Bible, Scripture, Seasons of life, Self care, Surviving difficulties, Knowledge of God's will, Spiritual wisdom, Spiritual understanding, Walking worthy of the Lor, Pleasing God, Bearing fruit in every go

After the death of my father-in-law back in December, a good friend sent me a paper filled with handwritten paragraphs that a friend of hers, had given her when she was going through a difficult time. At the top of the page it says, Paul’s Prayers.

These are some of Paul’s prayers for the body of believers; those he had met on his journeys through out Syria, Asia, Macedonia and finally Italy, where he was imprisoned and later killed in Rome. All throughout his ministry, Paul was never concerned for himself. His concerns lay in lifting up of the name of Jesus, preaching the Gospel, and in the unity and building up of the Christ Ones.

I have read these prayers many times as I am typically reading and rereading the letters of Paul, but I don’t always focus on the prayers. More often I am focusing on the parts that show me what I should be doing. This is an unfortunate habit that most of us as Christians get into. We concentrate on the doing, rather than the Being - the person of the Lord Jesus Christ - and all that He has done and wants to do for us.

As you can see from the highlighting on the paper, I decided to really look and mull over these prayers of the Apostle Paul. We all know how important the words of Jesus are, and the high priestly prayer (John 17) that He prays for those who were following, and who would be following Him in the future. Paul’s prayers are important too, and are so adept at reminding us of who Christ is, and who we are in His sight.

I want to share one of these prayers with you today as not only a source of encouragement, but a source of inspiration to remember whose we are.

“9 For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,
10 so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
11 strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously
12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.”

— Colossians 1:9-12 (NASB 1995)

What I have been doing with each of these prayers of Paul is to write them out, but write them as though praying for myself. We need to pray for ourselves. Why do we think that is something that is selfish, or unreasonable? Yes, God commands us to pray for others, but He also commands us to pray without ceasing. I am sure some of that time can and should be used to pray for ourselves. This is my prayer:

I pray this according to Colossians 1:9-12 - I pray that you would fill me with the knowledge of Your will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. I pray this in order that I may live a life that is worthy of You, and may please You in every way, bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of You; strengthened with all power according to Your glorious might so I might have GREAT endurance (all steadfastness) and patience; joyfully giving thanks to You who has qualified me to share in the inheritance of the saints in (the Kingdom of ) Light. (This last phrase was handwritten including the Kingdom of - we can assume from other knowledge of the scriptures the saints are not just in the Light, but in the Kingdom of God also known as the Kingdom of Light).

Image by Michael Kleinsasser from Pixabay

Using these four Scriptures to pray over myself had an incredible affect on me. It made something, that I might have otherwise glossed over, come alive. It reminded me of several key points:

1 - God gives us knowledge of His will through spiritual wisdom and understanding. One thing I often heard when I was a younger Christian was, how do I know God’s will for my life. Simply put, God reveals His will as we grow in our spiritual wisdom and understanding. We aren’t going to learn His will from reading novels or watching our favorite shows. We learn his will as we gain spiritual wisdom and understanding.

2 - In having this spiritual wisdom and understanding we A) Walk in a manner worthy of Him, B) Bear fruit in every good work, and C) Increase in our knowledge of God. This makes sense and hopefully doesn’t need to be explained.

3 - God strengthens us with all power according to His glorious might. He gives us strength with all power, not just a tiny bit of power, but all of it. God doesn’t do things half way! Not only does He strengthen us with all power, He does it according to His glorious might. This is the same might we see that raises Jesus from the dead. (Ephesians 1:18-23)

4 - God gives us this power so that we might be able to endure, and have patience. Wow! How cool is that? We have His power, all of His power, so we can keep going through the difficulties and do it with patience. This really speaks to me. With all the issues I have been having over the last two years, I can say it has only been His power that has given me the ability to patiently endure. Is it easy? No! Not at all, but it is truth, and His truth is all that matters.

5 - We can joyfully give thanks, because of what follows this phrase - He has qualified me to share in the inheritance of the saints in (the Kingdom of) light. There is no denying this spiritual and scriptural truth: we are children of the King. Being a child of royalty means I have all the resources of the Kingdom at my fingertips. I partake of those resources as I clasp my hands together in humility and thank Him for them.

I hope you are inspired by Paul’s prayers as much as I am. Have a great week!

Relentless - Part 2: The Pursued - The Gift

February 23, 2023 by Amy Christensen in Allegorical story, allegory, Allegory of Christianity, Analogy of Christian life, Being in the dark, Being let down, Being pursued, Belief, Belief in God's Word, Belief in Jesus, Believe, Blogging, Blogging about God, Blogging about Jesus, Blogging on Christianity, Blogging on faith, Blogging on life, Christian, Christian allegory, Christian belief, Christian blog, Christian blogger, Christian faith, Christian faith blog, Christian fiction, Christian life, Creative fiction, Darkness, Faith, Faith Blog, Faith blogger, Faith in God, Faith in Jesus, Fiction, Fictional short story, Fictional story, God is all knowing, God is all present, God is faithful, God is for us, God is good, God is light, God is relentless, God is with us, God's love, God's protection, Imagery, Lonely, Relationship with God, Sealed, Walking in the dark, Walking away from God

“Where are they? Myles? Sophie?” Laney called and whistled, but the dogs did not respond.

She had come to the park, their evening routine after she got home from work, but something had caught their eye, or their nose, and they had nearly pulled her down on her face before the leashes slid roughly from her hands.

She felt herself beginning to panic. What if she couldn’t find them? What if they didn’t come back? They were her constant companions. She couldn’t live without them.

“Sophie! Myles! Come!” She called loudly again as she jogged in the direction they had zoomed off.

She pulled out her phone. Her friend Jeremy would know what to do. He was always there to help her out. After a second he answered.

“Hello?”

“Jeremy, this is Laney. Hey, I’m at Preston Park. Myles and Sophie got away from me. Can you come help me look for them.”

“Um…well, I…I’m kinda busy right now, Laney. I’m sure they’ll be fine. Just hang out for a bit and they’ll probably come loping back in a few minutes.”

Laney was disappointed, but she didn’t let on. “Oh, okay. Well, thanks. See you at work tomorrow.”

She kept walking, but slowed her pace. Jeremy was probably right. They would come back in just a few minutes after they were done stimulating their noses. She headed toward the wooded area because she knew the pups loved to rummage around in the leaves.

Laney was proud of herself. She’d finally stopped messing around and started to take life seriously. After that last weird encounter at the bar, she decided to keep her drinking confined to her small home, and only when she had friends over. She had finally gotten an administrative position at work, got a great raise, good health insurance and a title that made her finally feel worth something. People came to her for advice and looked up to her.

Why was it then, she felt so alone?

Still, he pursued her. She could feel it in the quiet moments, which was exactly why she didn’t allow the silence. She had a routine. As she got home she was greeted by the barking of Myles and Sophie, the two rescues she adored. She changed her clothes, put on her headphones, cranked up the music and took the pups for a long walk. When they returned she turned on the TV to have a show on in the back ground as she made herself a healthy meal. It stayed on until she either went to bed, went out with friends or had friends over.

Her life before she left Him was becoming a blur, almost as though it wasn’t real. She had just about convinced herself it was just some sort of weird dream, a fairy tale of sorts, or it had seemed like a fairy tale until something bad had happened; something that He had not stopped. The question always nagged at her, if he really loved her why hadn’t he protected her?

Laney followed the path that wandered into the heavily treed area of the park. Just as she came around a corner she saw Sophie and Myles sitting in front of an elderly man on a bench.

“There you are! You two are in so much trouble.” She reached them and picked up both of their leads.'

“I am so sorry,” Laney said to the man. “They just took off. Just about dragged me with them.”

The gentleman chuckled. “Oh they were zooming for sure, but I could tell they belonged to someone who cared for them very much. I told them they had to sit with me until you came.”

Laney wasn’t sure what to think of the man, but he seemed quite harmless. Plus it was still daylight and there were people around. She sat down next to him.

She smiled. “You told them?”

He was looking off into the woods. He started, as if noticing her for the first time. “What was that?”

“You said, you told Myles and Sophie to sit with you until I came.”

He smiled gently as he patted Myles on the head. “Oh, yes…yes. This one is all for fun. He wanted to keep running, but his sister told him to listen. She’s the one with the deep desire to please you.”

Laney let out a small laugh. “You understand them…who are you Dr. Doolittle?”

The man smiled. “Oh no, no. That was just a made up story. I…well….I have a gift.”

“A gift?”

“Some would call it discernment. Others might call it knowledge…whatever it is I just know I’ve had it since I was seven years old.”

Laney looked at him, trying to figure out if he was serious. She suddenly felt worried for the man. “Are you okay? I mean do you need me to call someone? Do you live around here?”

He gently put a hand on her knee and patted it. “Now don’t you worry. I am perfectly sane, if that’s what you are wondering. I just know things, that’s all.”

Laney was intrigued. “What sorts of things? Has Myles told you he wants another sibling, because I cannot afford another…”

The gentleman burst into laughter, his eyes crinkling with mirth. His smile seemed to make the shaded path burst into light.

“I can tell you that Myles and Sophie were both rescues. Sophie has always loved to submit. It makes her happy to do her owner’s will. She is gentle and peaceful. Myles…well, he’s a lot like you.”

“Me?”

“Yes. He likes to run. He has very little patience for sitting still. Some days he wants to run and run and never turn back.”

Laney looked at Myles. “What? You would do that?”

Myles barked. The man continued. “Oh, he won’t ever leave you. He has a seal.”

“A seal?”

“Yes. Both Sophie and Myles have it. It was given to them by someone very important. You see, Myles and Sophie were both severely treated and abused. He gives them the most important job, to watch over the lost ones…You are very fortunate. He must love you a great deal. Myles and Sophie were created just for you.”

Laney sat there stunned, a tiny pin prick poking her heart. She took a deep breath and willed her mind to override the feelings. She stood up.

“Well, that’s all very interesting. I really need to go. I’ve got friends coming for dinner. Are you sure you don’t want me to call someone?”

The man patted Myles and Sophie again and whispered something only they could hear, then lifted his head to Laney.

“Thank you for sitting with me, even if just for a minute. It means the world to me.” He smiled again.

Laney had to pull the pups away from him as she moved down the path out of the woods. She turned back one time to see if the old man was going to try to follow her, but he was gone.

Faith Inspiration - There Was Jesus by Zach Williams and Dolly Parton

February 09, 2023 by Amy Christensen in There was Jesus, Zach Williams, Dolly Parton, Hee Haw, Roy Clark, Buck Owens, Country Music, Hymn Theology, Theology in songs, Christian music, Christian Contemporary, Matthew 28:20, Belief, Belief in God's Word, Belief in Jesus, Belief in the Bible, Believe, Bible, Bible study, Bible teaching, Blogging, Blogging about God, Blogging about Jesus, Blogging on Christianity, Blogging on faith, Blogging on life, Blogging on the Bible, Christian, Christian belief, Christian blog, Christian blogger, Christian faith, Christian faith blog, Christian life, Faith, Faith Blog, Faith blogger, Faith in God, Faith in Jesus, Faith in the bible, Faith inspiration, Inspired by music, Hope in God, Jesus, Jesus as Messiah, Jesus is our hope, Jesus is the life, Jesus is the light, Jesus is the truth, Jesus is the way, Learning from the Bible, Lessons from songs, The word of God, The work of Christ, Walking with Christ, Truth, The Great Commission, Making disciples, Disciples of Jesus, Disciples of Christ

I grew up every Saturday night watching Hee Haw with my mom and dad. If you have never seen Hee Haw click on the link to see a trailer for a disc collection. It will give you a taste of the silly humor and country music vibe that the show put forth each week. In addition to Roy Clark and Buck Owens there were always country music stars including Dolly Parton who made regular appearances from 1970 to 1975.

Being a rock and roll girl, I wasn’t into country music all that much, and I think I watched Hee Haw with my mom and dad more as a way to have something to do on a Saturday night. I enjoyed the silly comedy skits and jokes even more than the music, but still it holds a place in my memories and therefore I do like certain country music songs.

Though this song came out in 2019 I didn’t come across it until the last year or so. Zach Williams has his own story of redemption, which you can read a snippet of on his official website. I have learned that many songs I was familiar with from listening to my Christian radio station were songs done by him. It wasn’t until recently that I took a closer look at the artist and his music.

I chose the lyric video rather than the official music video because I wanted you to see the words. Often, a song will spark our interest because of the music, but when it comes to Christian music I want to know what is being said. Some of the best theology in history came in the form of music known as hymns…The Old Rugged Cross, Up From the Grave He Arose, Silent Night, O The Deep, Deep Love of Jesus and more.

Let’s look at a few phrases from There was Jesus.

“In the waiting, in the searching, in the healing and the hurting,
Like a blessing buried in the broken pieces.

Every minute, every moment, of where I’ve been and where I’m going,
Even when I didn’t know it, or couldn’t see it.

There was Jesus.”

— There was Jesus - Zach Williams (& Dolly Parton)

These words ring true for all of us, and they are scripturally sound. Jesus said,

“19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.””

— Matthew 28:19-20 (NASB 1995)

I love the connection here between the lyrics of the song and the Great Commission given by Christ to all who are called His disciples. We are called to make disciples. Disciples of ourselves? Disciples of whoever is in the political office? Disciples of the overpaid football player or the underpaid pastor? No! Disciples of Jesus. If we bear the name Christ One (Christian) we are commanded by our Lord and Savior to make disciples. We are to teach them to listen to and do what Jesus has commanded.

Many times I find myself thinking, but I am home alone all day, how can I make disciples? I can hardly talk right now due to sinus issues, how can I make disciples? Or maybe you are thinking, I am going through a divorce, how can I make disciples? I just lost my child, how can I make disciples? The answer is so simple:

“In the waiting, in the searching, in the healing and the hurting…”

We can make disciples because there was Jesus, going before us to prepare the way. There was Jesus present with us in the mess. There was Jesus coming along side in the difficulties. There was Jesus following after us as we moved forward thought grief and sadness. We make disciples by being real with the people around us and by being available to do whatever He asks us to do: sending a card to a grieving widow, inviting a friend you know is struggling out for coffee, or offering to babysit for a single mom.

“Every minute, every moment of where I’ve been and where I’m going, even when I didn’t know it or couldn’t see it…”

We don’t always know how our God is working, or why He leads us where He does, or allows the struggles that He does, but in those things He is. He is making us His disciples through His teaching, leading, loving, talking, and revelation of His truth, so that in turn we can make disciples who will follow Him.

“There was Jesus -

On the mountains, in the valleys,

There was Jesus -

In the shadows of the alleys,

There was Jesus -

In the fire, in the flood,

There was Jesus -

Always is and always was.”

“And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”